Microsoft Tells US FTC It Doesn't Know When Call of Duty Was Released, Why Franchise Is Special: Report

Microsoft announced its plans to get Activision Blizzard a twelvemonth ago, sparking concerns that the steadfast mightiness support Call of Duty, the video crippled company's iconic franchise, from appearing connected Sony's PlayStation. According to a report, an American exertion quality website, past twelvemonth successful January Microsoft announced it would walk $68.7 cardinal to get Activision Blizzard, highlighting however it would get Call of Duty, Warcraft and Candy Crush for that fee.

However, The Verge reports that Microsoft's lawyers are abruptly pretending they person nary thought wherefore Call of Duty is peculiar oregon adjacent erstwhile it came out.

Microsoft's 37-page reply to the US' Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suit seeking to artifact the Activision Blizzard woody includes the pursuing passage:

"Microsoft avers that it lacks cognition oregon accusation capable to signifier a content arsenic to the information of the allegations concerning manufacture perceptions of Call of Duty and Call of Duty's archetypal merchandise date; oregon arsenic to the information of the allegations concerning Call of Duty's motorboat and emblematic merchandise docket and the resources and fund Activision allocates to Call of Duty, including the fig of studios that enactment connected Call of Duty."

In its complaint, the FTC argued that acquiring Activision Blizzard would "enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly increasing subscription contented and cloud-gaming business."

A batch of radical person been disquieted astir the aboriginal of Call of Duty, to the constituent wherever Xbox CEO Phil Spencer publically assured the nationalist that the franchise volition beryllium accessible connected PlayStation for arsenic agelong arsenic PlayStations are successful production.

In its effect to the FTC, Microsoft cited its committedness to expand, not limit, the availability of Activision's flagship bid by bringing it to the Nintendo Switch.

As per The Verge, Nintendo and Microsoft person agreed to support Call of Duty connected Nintendo platforms for 10 years pursuing the acquisition, and offered Sony a 10-year woody too, aft Sony antecedently rebuffed a three-year extension. Sony hasn't publically responded to the 10-year offer. *

Affiliate links whitethorn beryllium automatically generated - spot our ethics statement for details.